Stop Cravings At The Source

Sometimes it is hard to say no to our cravings. Maybe it’s chocolate, maybe it is that bag of potato chips, or maybe it is your favourite fast food. If you’ve decided to start living healthy, or have recently started a new diet, your cravings may be out of control. Cravings are constantly trying to break you down and get you to cheat on your new healthy lifestyle.

If you are anything like us at Good Whole Food then willpower will only get you so far. You need to look at what is causing your cravings and fix the problem. Here are some ways to help stop cravings before they start.

The key to stopping cravings is to satisfy your hunger. It is a lot easier to convince yourself that a piece of pie is a good idea when your belly is grumbling. If you have satisfied your hunger it is a lot less work keeping food off your mind and your cravings at bay. The trouble is quenching your hunger in healthy ways that will keep you satisfied.

Stop Cravings By Increasing Your Protein Intake

One of the biggest things you can do to stop cravings is to increase the amount of protein you are taking in. Protein is proven to increase your metabolic rate and to help reduce appetite. Those are essential if you are going to stop cravings and feel full longer. A study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that people who ate 30% of their daily calorie intake in the form of protein naturally consumed 441 fewer calories each day. It makes sense. If you aren’t as hungry, you won’t eat as much food (assuming you stop eating when you are satisfied).

Protein, like any nutrient, can cause problems if it becomes too high of a percentage of your diet. While protein has many wonderful benefits, you need other nutrients to work alongside protein to see its max benefits. You need to eat good fats with your protein to help your body break down the protein and to keep your body lean. Like anything, too much of a good thing becomes harmful to your body.

One way to add some protein to your day is to start your day off with eggs. Eggs are a rich source of protein, and the yolks are packed with nutrients (saturated fats, Vitamin A, B-6, B-12, and D) that your body needs.

Another way to stop cravings is to cut down on carbohydrates. We get that this may be a hard to do. Carbs taste wonderful. You are probably like us and most of your cravings are carb based. When all you want to eat is carbs it seems like torture to even consider cutting a single carb out of your diet. BUT if you are serious about wanting to stop cravings, and feel full and satisfied, you’ll try replacing some of those carbs with something else. You don’t have to cut all carbs out of your diet, but carbs create a vicious cycle of craving more carbs so cut back when you can. Studies show that when people start to cut down on the amount of carbs they ingest their appetite naturally starts to go down and they start eating fewer calories.

Remember when we suggested eating eggs for breakfast? Besides adding protein and vitamins to your diet, it is also a great replacement for a high carb breakfast. Replacing high-carb breakfast foods like cereal or toast with 2 eggs is a great way to give your body the energy it needs in the morning, and will naturally start to reduce your appetite (and stop cravings).

Once your appetite is satisfied it is a lot easier to resist those cravings, so up your protein and fat consumption and cut back on the carbs.